The highs and low gear of show occupation are the stuff of legend . Behind the success , the glitz and the glamour , are the darker features of the industry : disappointment , failure , reconditeness and , on occasion , horrific violence .
As a promising actress who became a murder victim , Lana Clarkson is one uttermost example of someone who experienced both the glam and the calamity of the amusement humans .
Who Was Lana Clarkson?
Lana Clarkson ’s end made national headlines , but before her murder at the paw of super - producer Phil Spector , she had a promising vocation as an actress and model .
Born in 1962 in Long Beach , California , she was mostly raised Sonoma County before moving back toLos AngelesCounty with her crime syndicate .
Clarkson begin acting , landing small roles in " Fast Times at Ridgemont High " and " Scarface , " and eventually finding something of a niche in atomic number 5 flick .
She star in a number of moving picture for legendary B movie auteur Roger Corman and became a favourite of the musical genre ’s devoted buff base , come out in such title as " Barbarian Queen . "
An Acting Career That Faded
Clarkson was also cast in several commercials , and worked extensively as a good example . However , as she enter her 30s , roles became scarce and she had to find other manner to support herself . Her last film role was as Dr. Ellen Taylor in the 2001 movie " March . "
Friends and colleagues have reported that Clarkson was n’t through with show business ; she require to transition into employment as a funny actress and had even start to develop a standup routine . At the metre of her death , she had been working part - time as a stewardess , planning her next move in amusement .
The Murder of Lana Clarkson
As was later establish in a highly publicized murder trial , Lana Clarkson was murdered by disk producer Phil Spector sometime in the former break of the day of February 3 , 2003 . She met Spector at the West Hollywood House of Blues , where she was put to work as a air hostess .
Clarkson keep company Spector back to his mansion in Alhambra . At some point before dawn , he shot her in the lip , killing her . Spector was stop and charged with her execution , and several months later a visitation commence .
Phil Spector ’s execution of Lana Clarkson took two trials to reach a conviction . The first trial ended in a hung panel , but a 2nd return a guilty verdict . Spector insisted to the end that he was innocent and that her death was " an inadvertent suicide . "
A Pair of Murder Trials
Phil Spector ’s trials were extensively track , and when the first trial leave in a hung jury , many wondered if Clarkson would ever receive justice .
In the second trial , Spector was foundguiltyand sentenced to 19 twelvemonth to lifetime . Lana ’s mother , Donna Clarkson , received an unrevealed settlement from Spector ’s policy company as the result of a wrongful death lawsuit in 2012 .
The first test ’s jury was 10 - 2 , favour conviction , meaning that there were only two holdout who were unwilling to convict . There was no attestor to Clarkson ’s expiry , but the evidence of Spector was enough to win over a second panel beyond a reasonable doubt .
Key Evidence
A Morbid Fascination With Celebrity Death
Although never a wizard , Lana Clarkson had left her scratch on the amusement business . After the news of her execution broke , however , she attained a new degree of famous person : Tabloidsand evening news segments across the country could n’t get enough of " actress Lana Clarkson ’s demise , " and neither could audience .
Over the year there have been various adaptations and docudrama segments on the case . " Phil Spector " was a 2013 HBO moving-picture show that focused on the trial , and " Homicide : Los Angeles , " a Netflix docuseries , give an episode to the murder trial in 2024 .
Who Was Phil Spector?
Phil Spector was one of the most famous and influential producers in modern dada music . He is credited with manufacture the " Wall of Sound " aesthetic , which favoredmultiple tracksand dense instrumentality to make an immersive , oceanic sonic burden .
Over his longsighted vocation he exercise with some of rock ‘n’ roll and daddy ’s biggest principal , including the Righteous Brothers , Ike and Tina Turner , the Ronettes , The Beatles , John Lennon and George Harrison .
Ronnie Bennet , the lead vocaliser and Centennial State - founder of of the Ronettes , married Spector in 1968 , by and by disassociate him in 1974 . Ronnie Spector , as she was bang during her marriage to Phil , later demonstrate to his excited unbalance , narcissism and generally abusive leaning .
Phil Spector’s Decline
Spector had a longstanding reputation for being gonzo and " difficult " in show business . By the 1980s , however , he had become increasingly unstable and reclusive , and he had largely stopped make . His long decline terminated in his conviction for Lana Clarkson ’s murder .
Spector died in prison in 2021 . His attorney had appeal his conviction on several occasions , but the California Supreme Court eventually rejected them .
